Arizona Supreme Court gives citizen initiatives wide berth

The Arizona Supreme Court from left are Robert Brutinel, John Lopez, John Pelander, Scott Bales, Andrew Gould, Clint Bolick, Ann Scott Timmer.

By Howard Fischer | Capitol Media Services via Arizona Capitol Times

The Arizona Supreme Court from left are Robert Brutinel, John Lopez, John Pelander, Scott Bales, Andrew Gould, Clint Bolick, Ann Scott Timmer.

The state’s high court on Wednesday paved the way for more wide-ranging citizen initiatives — assuming the proponents can get their issues on the ballot.

Without dissent the justices ruled that state laws which limit legislation to a single subject do not apply when the proposal comes from voters. That means initiative backers are free to propose new statutes with a full garden of ideas in a single measure, even if they are unrelated.

The justices also said that constitutional requirements for ballot measures to provide a funding source like a new tax do not apply when nothing in the proposal actually mandates new expenditures. They said the fact there might be indirect financial implications — even those lawmakers contend are necessary — is not enough.